


Alien Force

by Phineasflynns



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: F/M, Rewrite, Self Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27531874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phineasflynns/pseuds/Phineasflynns
Summary: I’ve been showing clips from my Ben 10 rewrite on Tumblr and a couple people requested to read it; this is the easiest place for that.Rewrite of the series ft. My 2 original characters Dallas Taylor and Ashley Jones.
Relationships: Ben Tennyson/Dallas Taylor, Ben Tennyson/Original Female Character(s), Kevin Levin/Ashley Jones, Kevin Levin/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Alien Force

**Author's Note:**

> I’m posting this in hopes of some people enjoying it, maybe thinking it’s cute. Before reading please take time to read this note;
> 
> I write this for fun. It has been a ten year process with one of my best friends, and a lot of the original concepts were thought up when we were 16. The OC’s are probably OP and I’m aware of that but again this is all for fun. 
> 
> Please don’t flame or leave negative comments. This rewrite is important to me and it’s nerve wracking for me to post this. 
> 
> If you enjoy it please do let me know!
> 
> Also I know the formatting is ugly, I’m sorry, I write this all on my phone. It can’t be helped unfortunately.

It was a sunny day in Bellwood, a crowd of teens gathered at a soccer field to witness the final game of the season. In the stands Dallas Taylor and Ashley Jones cheer for their friend on the field, Ben Tennyson. The clock quickly counts down, and with one second left Ben leaps up and catches the ball, winning the game for his team. 

Ashley loudly whoops, and Dallas leaps to her feet and cheers his name. On the field, his team chants his name and picks him up, carrying him right off the field and away from the cheering spectators. 

\--------

“Ben!” Dallas squeals as she rushes over to her friend as he finishes unlocking his bike, and he barely has time to properly stand before her arms around him. “Congrats!” 

He chuckles softly as his arms wrap around her in return. 

“Thanks Dal.” He replies, and Ashley clears her throat playfully when the hug lasts a moment or two too long. 

Both teens immediately jerk back with pink cheeks, smiling sheepishly at each other, and they’re saved from having to say anything by Ashley stepping forward to hug him. 

“We knew you could do it.”

“I’m awesome.” He jokes with a wink once she steps back, and he tilts his head toward the road. “Come on, we should go tell grandpa.”

“And show him your medal?” Dallas teases, poking said medal, and he snorts a laugh and swats her hand away. 

“Maybe.” 

\----------

“Grandpa Max?” Ben calls, rapping his knuckles on the door to the rust bucket. “Open up, its us!” 

When nobody answers he frowns and glances to his friends, arching an eyebrow. 

“Maybe he’s out?” Ashley suggests. 

“It feels like he hasn’t been here in weeks.” Dallas mutters, and she reaches her own hand up to knock again. “Grandpa?” 

When she receives no answer Ashley jumps up to peer into the window, shaking her head slightly when she confirms there’s nobody inside. 

“Dallas is right..” She mutters. 

Ben stoops and grabs the fake rock by the steps to the rust bucket, pulling the spare key out of the bottom and unlocking the door. The group steps through it, wary and on alert for intruders. 

“Hello? Grandpa?” Ben calls again, creeping further into the motor home, both girls creeping along with their fists raised behind them. 

“What happened here?” 

“Grandpa usually isn’t this messy.” Dallas mutters, using her mana to lift a crumpled Hawaiian shirt from the floor and drop it onto the bench seat by the table. 

All three flinch when there’s a thud, and Dallas flings her hand out to grab the back of Ben’s shirt, the three of them sharing a glance. 

“You heard that too, right?” Ben hisses, and Ashley shoots him a slightly condescending glare. 

“No, she’s grabbing your jacket because she saw a spider on it.” She whispers back, rolling her eyes as her hands ignite with mana. 

“Don’t joke about spiders!” Both brunettes spit immediately, and she groans. 

“Will you just open the door!?” 

Shooting her a dark look Ben creeps forward and reaches out, giving his friends a warning glance before yanking open the bathroom door. The room turns out to be empty, and he raises an eyebrow. 

“Huh? But-“

He breaks off when the curtain to his right get yanked open, revealing a large and grotesque alien. His eyes go wide in shock and he shrieks as it’s chest splits open and tentacles shoot out toward him from its chest cavity. 

“Ben!” The girls cry as he leaps away, and Ashley throws up a mana shield while Dallas grabs Ben, the two of them falling backwards in her haste to pull him away, and she uses her mana to propel their fall into a backward somersault, landing them on their feet. 

Once he’s in the clear she darts forward, Ashley’s shield drops, and they take on the alien. Ben, refusing the leave the work to his friends, rushes forward once more, ducking under a swinging claw, and his hand flies through the air in a movement born from years of habit, slapping down on his bare left wrist. 

“Oh, man!” He cries in protest, turning to instead kick the aliens legs out from under it. It shrieks and falls backwards, and Ben turns to his friends. “Hide!” He orders, and both immediately obey, rushing to the front of the vehicle and each ducking into the crevice between the wall and the seats. 

The alien creature sucks it’s tentacles back into its chest and charges for Ben immediately, and the brunette is quick to step back and open a cupboard, flinching back when it’s clawed fist punches clean through it. 

The alien snarls and rips the cupboard door right off its hinges and grabs for him again, and Ben darts away, slipping under the table and allowing himself a moment to catch his breath. The moment is short lived, as the alien reacts by ripping the table clean off of the floor. 

“Gah!” He shrieks, scurrying away just as the creature makes another grab at him. 

He vanishes from view then, leaving even Dallas and Ashley wondering where he went, and they watch in silence as the alien notices Ben’s shoe peeking out from below a fixture. Curious, it crouches, an annoyed grunt escaping when he finds nothing attached to the shoe. 

It’s then that Ben slips out of his hiding place, a fire extinguisher in his grasp, and he taps its shoulder. 

“Peekaboo!” He cries before blasting it with the device. 

The creature shrieks and immediately flees, smashing through the front window of the rust bucket in its haste. Ben drops the extinguisher and rubs his hands on his shorts as his friends walk over. 

“Still know how to fight aliens I see.” Ashley comments, and he laughs humourlessly. 

“Apparently.”

“It didn’t hurt you, right?” Dallas asks, reaching out to gently touch her fingertips to his arm. 

“No, I’m okay.” He smiles at her, and her cheeks turn a light pink. 

“Good.”

“You sound surprised. Five years isn’t really long enough to forget that kind of stuff.” Ashley comments, and Ben nods. 

“I guess you’re right.” He turns his gaze toward where the alien had been hiding, a frown taking over his face again. “That thing was looking for something, Grandpa. But what?”

He sighs and passes one more glance around the motor home before he turns and makes his way to the front of the vehicle, quickly flicking a few switches on the dash. Behind him, near Dallas and Ashley, a hiss sounds through the rust bucket and then a small capsule pops out of a cupboard. 

Dallas glances over and, seeing the hologram projector inside, grabs it and tosses it to Ben as he approaches. 

“Hello Ben, girls.” Grandpa Max greets as the small disk lights up, immediately projecting his image above it. 

“Grandpa, what’s-“

"I left this recording where I knew only you would find it. I'm in a bit of a situation. But it's nothing I can't handle. Certainly nothing for you to worry about.”

"When adults say that, it's always something to worry about." Dallas mutters to her sister, and Ashley nods immediately in agreement. 

"There's renewed alien activity on earth. I'm investigating." The hologram flickers off briefly before lighting back up. “Oh, and don't worry about the Omnitrix either. I have it, and it's completely safe. They'll never get their hands on it." Grandpa pauses briefly, and seems to be staring into their souls. “Say hello to your cousin Gwen for me. Love you. Max out." He finishes, and the hologram finally fades out for the final time. 

“You’ve got the Omnitrix?” Ben mutters, tilting his head to the side. He glances to his friends whom seem to be just as confused as him. 

“I thought you had it..” Ashley says, and her sister nods. 

\--------

The teens all run frantically up the driveway and straight up the stairs to Ben’s bedroom. 

“Kids! Don’t run in the house!” Sandra calls from the kitchen, and they each call a halfhearted apology over their shoulder as they practically fall all over themselves in their haste to get to Ben’s closet. 

As soon as they’re in his room Ben is digging through his closet, tossing shirts, boxers and action figures out of the way as he searches for a particular box. 

“He says he’s got the Omnitrix, but I know it’s in here somewhere. 

The girls approach and crouch next to him, about to offer their assistance when he suddenly jerks back with a triumphant shout and a box held in his hands. 

He wastes no time in pulling the lid off and moving his deck of Sumo-Slammer cards, revealing the Omnitrix nestled safely amongst his other odds and ends. His brow furrows. 

“What are you trying to tell us grandpa?” He murmurs. 

“Maybe something is wrong.” Ashley suggests, and Ben nods. The girls stand, and Dallas offers her hand to Ben. He takes it, allowing her to pull him to his feet, and she lifts her free hand to touch his shoulder. 

“You know you don’t have to put that back on if you don’t want to.” She says gently, and he manages a smile. 

“I know.” 

“If you two can stop flirting, maybe Ben can get changed so we can go see Gwen.” 

“We weren’t flirting!” Both immediately protest, cheeks pink. 

"Uh huh. Sure. I’ll be downstairs with your mom, you guys can come find me when you’re done falling all over each other.” 

She doesn’t give them a chance to respond before she leaves the room, leaving the two flustered brunettes alone. 

“I- I’m sorry about her. I don’t know what’s with her today.” Dallas mumbles, avoiding Ben’s gaze at all costs, and Ben shrugs and forces a smile. 

“It’s ok, I know how Ash can be.” She makes the mistake of looking up right as he winks, and her heart stutters in her chest, cheeks igniting scarlet. 

“Yeah.” She replies absentmindedly, and he arches a brow. 

“You okay?” He asks. 

“A little dazzled.” She huffs out an embarrassed laugh and takes a few quick backward steps to the door. “Just- uh- I’ll be downstairs with Ashley!” 

She bolts before he can reply. 

\--------

Gwen meets the gaze of her opponent, schooling her face into a neutral mask. Jackson may appear to be large, but she knows she can take him down with a flick of her wrist; alien fighting really builds up muscles. She shakes her head slightly to ground herself. Now isn’t the time. 

He steps back, taking his stance, and she does the same. 

“Fight!” Sensei calls. 

Jackson immediately rushes forward with a cry and swings his arm, and Gwen ducks under it, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward. She shifts then, and grabs the front of his uniform, using it to swing him straight over her head until he hits the mats on his back. Without giving him a beat to recover, she flips herself over him, landing neatly on top of him. 

“Point! Victory!”

Gwen smiles and stands, holding her hand out to Jackson, and the blond smiles and gratefully takes it. She helps him to his feet and they each step back to bow. She turns her head from him only when she hears gentle applause. 

“So, hows my favourite cousin?” Ben asks as she approaches, and she snorts and affectionately embraces him. When she pulls away she glances at their friends, and then back to Ben with a raised eyebrow. 

“Compliments. Means you want something.” 

"I've got a problem... I need advice.” He admits, and she nods. 

“Okay.” She agrees. “As soon as I shower and change.” 

“Hopefully she’ll be able to help.” Ashley says as the redhead disappears into the locker rooms. 

\-------

When Gwen comes back into the main room the trio is passed out on the mats, Ben snoring loudly with drool running down his chin. Ashley is asleep on her stomach sprawled starfish across a mat with a mana pillow beneath her head, and Dallas is cuddled right up to Ben’s chest. The redhead arches a brow, taking note of his hand on her waist. 

“Ahem.” She makes a show of clearing her throat and lightly kicks his foot, and he startles awake. 

“Wha- Huh?” He mumbles as he lurches up. 

Dallas gets yanked up unexpectedly with him and her sleep hazed mind takes a second to process her new position, but before she fully can she’s toppling across his lap. 

“Whoa- Dal!” Ben cries as he tries to catch her, lest she risk smacking her face into his knee. The force of his movement is enough to send her falling to the side and it pulls him unexpectedly with her, resulting in him hovering over top of her on the mats. 

Her face immediately burns scarlet when she sees how close his face is, and his face turns red as he shoots upwards and falls back onto his ass. 

“Sorry!”

“Wow.” Gwen rolls her eyes and flicks a bolt of mana at Ashley to rouse her. 

Ashley grumbles and lifts her head. 

“What?”

“You guys needed help?” Gwen prompts, and Ben sighs. 

“I need advice.” He corrects, lifting his hand to show her the Omnitrix clutched in his fist. 

\-------

“Oh, don't worry about the Omnitrix either. I have it, and it's completely safe. They'll never get their hands on it. Say hello to your cousin Gwen for me. Love you. Max out."

Gwen stares in silence for a moment at the place Grandpa Max’s face had just occupied.

“Grandpa clearly doesn’t have the Omnitrix. You do.” 

Her gaze doesn’t waver from the disc, but when Dallas speaks it draws her attention. 

“We think something might be wrong. Maybe Grandpa thinks the Omnitrix is necessary again?” 

“Yeah. He’s sending me some kind of message. I think he wants me to put it on again.”

“He always said it was your choice.” Gwen reminds him, reaching out to gently touch his shoulder. 

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.” Ashley agrees.

“I used to love the Omnitrix. It made me feel special.” He admits, and Dallas reaches out to place her hand upon his gently. 

“It wasn’t the watch that was special, Ben. It was you. You were taking this watch and making it something amazing, doing extraordinary things and helping people. That was all you.” 

Ben smiles at her, cheeks turning a light pink. 

“You’ve earned a chance to have a normal life. You put that thing back on, and that’s pretty much it for normal.” Gwen warns, and Ben sighs softly. 

“But if Grandpa needs my help..”

“He said he didn’t.”

“And remember how much trouble we had getting that damn thing off last time?” Ashley reminds him, and he groans. 

“Hey,” Dallas says, and he turns to face her. “I know it’s a hard choice. But ultimately it’s /your/ choice. The three of us can say whatever we want, but we won’t be the ones stuck with it. Choose based on what you want. Not what you think other people want.”

“I-“ He breaks off, all of their heads turning toward the door when it suddenly slams open. 

“The Omnitrix ain’t yours.” The figure that stalked in snarls, and Ben arches an eyebrow skeptically. “Give it up!” 

“No way!” Ben immediately protests as he jumps to his feet. 

Taking that as a signal the others stand and as a unit they rush away, straight out the doors, only to be stopped by the final set of doors blocking their exit. 

“Give it to me! Now!” 

“Or what?”

“Or this!” The man reaches up and grabs his face, yanking it away to reveal an alien form, gills easily visible on his neck 

“Oh, that’s so creepy.” Ben grimaces. 

“I’m not sure if that’s an ew or a yuck.” Dallas mutters. “Maybe a yikes?”

“How about all three?” Her sister offers. 

“Let’s go-“ He tries, taking a few steps down the hall before the alien fires his laser blaster at his feet. Ben scrambles a step back, glaring at the alien. 

“Don’t make me use it on you.” He threatens, and Ben scoffs. 

“Who’s making?”

Gwen sighs as she levitates a few feet off the floor, forming a pink mana disk beneath her feet as two more form around her fists. 

“Not fish-face here that’s for sure.” She states. 

She blinks, and Dallas is right in front of him, she blinks again and he’s totally disarmed and wrapped tightly in green mana. 

“I’m sorry, did you just shoot at him?”

“Green mana...” He mutters, and his gaze flicks up to her, searching her eyes. 

“I want some answers, right now.” Ben demands, approaching the alien and his friend. “Otherwise-“

“Yeah?” He challenges. 

“I dunno. I’ll over-feed you?” 

“Do I look like somebody to joke with? I’m a dually-deputized agent of the Plumbers! An intergalactic law enforcement organization!”

“I know what they are! My grandpa Max used to be a plumber!” 

At that, the alien relaxes slightly. 

“Max Tennyson? He was helping me on a case, but then he went missing.”

“We’re looking for him.” Gwen tells him, and he tilts his head almost imperceptibly. 

“Wait.. He’s your grandfather? You’re the legendary Ben Tennyson?”

“I guess so?” Ben shrugs.

“I knew it, then you must be Dallas Taylor and Ashley Jones!” He cries, “You-“ He breaks off rapidly at the panicked look upon their faces, and the subtle shakes of their heads. He coughs, and changes the subject. “ I apologize. I thought you were just some kids that snatched it from the Rust Bucket. I guess I owe you an apology. If you get me out of this thing, maybe we can find your granddad together.”

Ben smiles and nods, and Dallas immediately releases him. With a sigh he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the Omnitrix, hesitance clear in his eyes. 

“Are you sure?” Gwen asks softly, and Dallas squeezes his shoulder. 

“You don’t have to do this, Ben.” 

“We’re with you no matter what.” Ashley promises. 

Ben huffs a breath, and then he stuffs the Omnitrix onto his wrist. 

“I know. And I’m sure.”

\---------

“So.. What are we doing here?” Gwen asks softly as they crouch behind a group of containers. 

“Stakeout.” Magister Labrid replies, voice a soft hiss. “According to a tip from your grandfather the Forever Knights, a group of alien criminals who-“

“Trade in alien technology. Yeah, I know. I’ve run up against them before.” 

“They’re supposed to show up here tonight to receive a shipment of illegal alien tech.” Labrid explains, and Gwen hums softly in the back of his throat. 

“Who do they get it from?” Ashley asks curiously. 

“Don’t know.” He admits. “Max was going to tell me, but then he disappeared.” He turns his head quickly, and ducks further down. “Someone’s coming.” 

A couple hundred feet away two transport trucks pull into the clearing, one red and one green, parking right in front of each other before shutting down. It was barely a moment later that a green Camaro with two black stripes drove up, parking in between them. 

The door of the car opens, and Ashley goes white as a ghost when Kevin Levin steps out of the car. 

“Oh my god.” Ben gasps. 

“That’s Kevin!” Dallas hisses, and Labrid looks over with an arched brow, not seeming to notice how pale Ashley has gone. 

“You know him?” 

“Kevin Levin.” Ben replies. “He’s got super powers. We fought when we were kids.”

“He ended up trapped in the Null Void. Kind of like an extradimensional jail.”

“Kev-“ The name tries to escape before Dallas’ hand cuts it off by clapping down over her sisters mouth. 

“Shh! He’s clearly the dealer!” 

“I-“

“Last time he saw us, he tried to kill us. Just wait a sec.”

Ashley glances at her sister and then back down to Kevin, swallowing down the sick feeling in her stomach. 

“Money’s here.” Kevin tells them, and Labrid gasps. 

“He’s brokering the deal!”

“Why not? You said it was illegal.” Ben smirks, and Dallas chooses not to comment on the fond tone in his voice. 

Silence overtakes the group once more as they watch Kevin approach a large crate, popping it open and pulling out a moderately sized weapon. 

“As promised, four dozen factory new laser lances.” He tells them, holding it up proudly, as if it’s a newborn baby. “Ether point energy module, antenna focus emitter. It’s good for thirty five minutes of continuous fire at point six terawatts. Is that good?” He fires it at a distant train car which promptly explodes into oblivion. He smirks. “You tell me.”

“Those lances are level five technology! Planet earth is only level two!” Labrid yells, and Ben shoots him a look of offence. 

“Hey! What happened to the whisper!?”

Labrid ignores him entirely and takes off toward Kevin, and without a moment of hesitation Gwen and Ben follow. Dallas only hesitates when she realizes her sister isn’t following. 

“Ash?”

“I can’t do this, Dal.” Ashley breathes, and before she can flee her sister grabs her wrist. 

“Ashley don’t, please-“

“Dal let me go!” She demands, shoving at her sisters hand. 

“I faced Ben! Why is it so hard for you to face-“

“I may have wiped his memories but Kevin chose to leave, first!” Ashley hisses viciously, and Dallas falters. “Ben never would’ve left you and we both know it.” 

Ashley rips her hand free and turns to stalk in the opposite direction, hesitating only when her sister speaks. 

“I didn’t realize Kevin chose to go to the Null Void.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it-“

“I’m not playing this game Ashley! You’re scared to face him. I get it. You think I wasn’t scared to face Ben again!?”

“He left!”

“He got sent to the Null Void! You wiped his memories and let him get shipped off to a hellish pocket dimension!” She yells back, and Ashley looks away. Dallas sighs. “Whatever. If you want to run, then run.” 

With that, she turns and jumps down the hill after her best friend. 

“What now?” Ben’s voice reaches her ears as she rejoins them, and Labrid grimaces. 

“Stand off.”

“I don’t think so.” Dallas disagrees, and Ashley’s voice pipes up from behind them. 

“The other guys are behind us.”

“We’re toast.” Gwen mutters as the DNAliens begin advancing on them, the Forever Knights mimicking their actions and closing in on the group. 

“Oh no we’re not. It’s hero time!” Ben yells, flicking the Omnitrix on and slapping down the centre. 

The Omnitrix makes a slight whirring noise and the core turns blue. Ben frowns. 

“Huh?”

“Ben!?” Gwen whines, and Ben shrugs helplessly. 

“Watch!!” He whines back to her, clearly irritated. 

“Ben, seriously!” Gwen cries, and Dallas sighs. 

“Oh for god sakes.” She mutters. “I’ll take the aliens you take the knights.” 

Ashley mutters an agreement, and they quickly face their opponents. 

Dallas raises her hands over her head and forms a platform of mana, slamming it down upon the cluster of DNAliens, and the creatures shriek and scream in protest.

“Let’s dance!” She shrieks, and Ashley’s laughter rings out behind her. 

“Come on!” Ben cries angrily at the watch, nervously glancing from it to his friends and back again. “This is a really bad time for a reboot!” 

“Ben?” Gwen prompts, and the teen sighs. 

“I’ve got nothing.”

“Maybe I do..” Gwen murmurs, and Dallas smirks to herself when her sisters voice rings teasingly through her mind. 

-We have to do everything around here, don’t we?-

-Apparently.-

When Gwen joins in Dallas decides to fall back to protect Ben; he’s her priority, especially when he can’t protect himself from this kind of onslaught. She steps into his personal space and forms a shield around them, gritting her teeth at the effort of holding it up against the laser lances. 

“Dal? Are you okay?” Ben asks worriedly, and she nods her head. 

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” He frets, and she manages a smile up at him as she braces her hands on the roof of the shield. 

“Trust me.”

“Always.” 

“Good. Then trust me when I tell you to run as soon as this shield drops.” He doesn’t even have a second to react before said shield drops, and he’s running before he can question her. 

“Come on, come on!” He screams at the Omnitrix as he flees, one of the many DNAliens taking notice of him and giving chase. 

\-------

The girls growl, their shields cracking under the pressure of dozens of laser lances, and Dallas hisses in annoyance. 

“This is stupid.”

Before either of them can react she leaps up into the air, launching mana disks at the Forever Knights as quickly as she can, destroying the laser lances in a fiery explosion that tosses the men backward and renders them unconscious. 

The shields drop and Gwen glances over her shoulder to talk to them as she runs, but she makes it only a few steps before she steps in the putrid muck the creatures had been spitting at them. Both sisters stop to help their friend, and they don’t notice the other aliens creeping up until it’s too late. 

\-------

Ben groans angrily, almost screaming, tapping harder on the screen of the Omnitrix. The device beeps again, and he jerks his hand away just in time for it to turn a bright, blinding green that forces him to close his eyes and look away. When he looks back, it’s smaller and green, and easier to pass off as a watch. 

He hums to himself softly in fascination as he reaches up to click through a couple of aliens, but he quickly kicks himself in gear. Now isn’t the time. 

“It never did that before..” He muses to himself. “I don’t recognize any of these guys.. though, under the circumstances, this one looks pretty good!” 

He slams his hand down and almost laughs at the familiar feeling flooding his veins, Adrenalin spiking with the familiar eagerness for a fight. The blinding green light fades to reveal a Methanosian.

“Swampfire!” He bellows. He glances down at his hands, and wrinkles his nose. “What’s that smell? Is that me!?”

He goes rigid when he hears a DNAlien shriek in the distance, and pushes the smell issue to the back of his mind for later. Now isn’t the time. 

“Get away from my friends!”

He joins the fight full force, quickly dispatching two DNAliens, watching smugly as the other three flee to the green truck in an attempt to drive away. Swampfire hums softly as he tears a light pole out of the ground and swings it like a baseball bat, slamming it into the side of the truck and sending it toppling onto its side. 

“I forgot how much fun this is.”

The Forever Knights catch on in that moment that the DNAliens aren’t going to win this fight alone, and grab their new guns to attack the hero with. To their surprise and Swampfire’s immense joy, the shots go right through him without so much as a light prickle. 

“Stop that, it tickles!” 

He looks down in alarm when one of his arms is shot off, and his eyebrows raise in surprise as the appendage hits the ground, fingers twitching. 

“Ben!” Dallas cries, and Ben turns a furious look upon the men in front of him. 

“Hey-“ He begins angrily, but he breaks off when a vine sprouts from the socket of his shoulder and finds his severed arm, reattaching it with ease. Ben blinks, making a fist with it before chuckling. “You guys are in so much trouble!”

The trio flees immediately, and before Ben has even half a second to contemplate going after them, his path is blocked by Kevin. 

“Hey, Tennyson!”

“What do you want?”

"Well, let’s think. You trapped me in the Null Void for all those years.”

“You did that to yourself.” Swampfire scoffs, and Kevin bristles. 

“And you ruined my deal today.” He continues as if he was never interrupted. “I’m thinkin’ I want revenge.”

He stoops and places his hands on the metal pipe running by their feet, and the metal slides up to coat his skin. 

“Huh?” Swampfire utters, and Kevin smirks. 

“The good news is, since I can absorb anything, I have more than enough power to take it.”

“That’s new.”

Steeling himself he swings his fist at Kevin, and the raven swiftly dodges, punching his fist straight into the aliens stomach. Unfortunately for him it goes right through the plant based creature, and he grunts in alarm when he realizes he’s stuck. Swampfire smirks and swings his hands down, slapping both sides of Kevin’s head simultaneously as if he was banging together a set of symbols, kicking the ruffian away once he’s dazed. 

Kevin crashes into a crate and he groans, but he recovers quickly and picks it up, hurling it at the alien hero, crushing him instantly. 

“And that’s what happens when you mess with me!” Kevin boasts, and Dallas shrieks bloody murder from where she’s stuck to her sister and her friend. 

“Ben!”

Behind Kevin, a tiny sprout pops out of the ground and quickly forms into a full-sized 

Swampfire.

“Hey! What!?” 

“Peekaboo!” Swampfire taunts, throwing his fists forward. 

Kevin stumbles back, turning and picking up a train caboose and holding it over his head. 

“Kevin, don’t!” Ashley shrieks, and Kevin’s head darts to the side, gaze locking with Ashley’s. His eyes go wide in shock. 

Seeing his lapse in attention, Swampfire blasts the caboose, causing it to explode and toss Kevin into the dirt. He groans, and the metal coating falls from his skin. Moments later he’s unconscious. 

\-------

Kevin groans as he comes to, sitting up and immediately noticing the energy cuffs on his wrists. He grunts in annoyance as he tugs idly at them. 

“Energy cuffs.” Magister Labrid tells him snidely. “You can’t escape. Ain’t nothing to absorb.” 

“You still have some of that stuff in your hair.” Ben tells Gwen as they approach Kevin, and the redhead reaches up into her hair. Kevin shakes his head. 

“Other side.”

She blinks and reaches her hand further back, freezing and retching in disgust. 

“Ew!” She whines, shifting it over her shoulder so she can work on pulling the remaining ooze from her hair. 

"It's time we had a talk, tough guy. These weapons run on ether point energy cells. A dangerous thing, way too advanced for humans. They shouldn't even be on this planet.” Labrid tells the Osmosian, and Kevin smirks almost imperceptibly. 

"So? How's that my problem?”

"While we were fighting the Forever Knights got away with a truck full of them.” Ben snaps. 

"You made the deal.” Labrid growls, leaning forward to poke Kevin in the chest. "And you're going to tell me where they are.”

Kevin rolls his eyes and looks away, saying nothing. Ben sighs and glances to his side where Dallas and Ashley are arguing over Kevin again. 

“Ash just talk to him!”

“Dal you saw him, he was going to kill Ben!”

“And he stopped. Because of you. Maybe you can get him to help us.”

“Yeah? And maybe not.” She responds tersely, turning her gaze to the ground. 

“Ash, if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have stopped.” She points out, and her sister sighs. 

“Fine.”

The duo walks back over to their troop, and Kevin’s gaze immediately locks on Ashley. Dallas stops by Ben’s side, but Ashley takes a couple more steps until she’s right in front of Kevin. 

“What’s going on?”

“He won’t tell us where they are.” Labrid gripes, and Ashley sighs, crouching in front of the raven. 

“Kevin,” She says gently, reaching out to touch his shoulder, swallowing back the tight feeling she gets in her throat. God, she’s missed him. She takes a breath to calm herself before she proceeds. “People could get hurt.”

Kevin’s gaze softens. 

“You’re in a lot of trouble, son.” Labrid warns coldly. “We’re giving you a chance to help yourself.”

"You don't have to convince me.” He replies. “Those guys ran off before I got paid. I'm happy to help find those deadbeats.”

\------

And so the ruffian was released and lead them to his car so they could go after the thieves. Labrid climbs in behind Kevin’s seat, and Kevin hesitates by the passenger side door for a moment. He glances at Ashley and then pulls it open, shooting her a hopeful glance. 

Ashley hesitates for a brief moment but, seeing the look in his eyes, accepts the offered seat. He closes the door, a bright smile on his face as he hurries to his own seat. Gwen climbs in the back next, and then Ben takes a seat and pats his lap. 

“I guess you’re stuck with me.” He says sheepishly, cheeks a light pink, and Dallas’ own cheeks burn red as she smiles nervously and sits herself in his lap. He spreads his knees slightly so she can put hers between his, and he reaches his hand up and across her body to grab the seatbelt. 

“You may need to lean back, safety first.” He murmurs, and her face burns hotter as she nods and shifts closer to him, his face practically pushed into her throat when the seatbelt clicks into place. 

“All set?” Kevin asks, and Ben nods. 

“We’re good.” He calls back, and Dallas swallows thickly at the puff of hot air against her neck. What has she gotten herself into?

\------------

“I still think I should drive.” 

"Nobody drives my car but me.” Kevin replies tersely, and Gwen rolls her eyes. 

"You were telling us about the aliens?" She prompts. 

"I don't know anything about the ones we fought today. Never met that kind before.”

Ben hums softly and crosses his arms across Dallas’ stomach so he can fiddle with the Omnitrix, and her face burns anew. 

“They aren’t in here.” He tells them, adding on after a moment; “Not that I know how to work this thing anymore.”

"There's been a lot of alien activity on earth lately. Don't know why. Your grandfather thought maybe the weapons deal would lead us to whatever is causing all the interest. Now he's missing.” Labrid tells the group, and Gwen huffs a forced laugh. 

"Knowing Grandpa Max he's probably in a restaurant somewhere enjoying a roasted cockroach sandwich." 

"It’s a wonder all that weird food didn't kill him." Ashley mutters, and Ben goes rigid beneath his friend. 

“Uh oh.” She mutters. 

"He's not dead! Stop making jokes about him!" Ben snaps, and Ashley’s eyes go wide in shock. 

Kevin screeches the car to a stop and whirls around to pin Ben with a glare. 

“Don’t talk to her like that!” 

“I’ll talk to her any way I-“ He breaks off, she’s going wide in realization, and he exhales sharply, squeezing Dallas tighter around the middle. “You’re right. I’m sorry Ash.”

“It’s okay.” She assures him gently. “I know you’re worried about Grandpa.”

“I just wish he were here.” He sighs. “He would know what to do. He always knows what to do.”

"Kid, you're the one with the Omnitrix, you're going to have to figure out how to get things done on your own.” Labrid points out, and Dallas’ eyes flash green briefly in annoyance. 

She moves her hands to cover his and gently squeeze them. 

“Grandpa Max isn’t dead, and Ben doesn’t have to suddenly know how to do everything on his own. The last time we did this kind of shit, we had Grandpa. Give him a break. He’s worried. We all are. At least he can admit it.” 

Kevin stares at her for a moment before snorting and resuming their drive. The remainder of it is in total silence. 

“This is it.” Kevin mutters when they arrive at what appears to be a wannabe castle. 

“Subtle. Nobody would think to look for knights here.” Ben smirks 

"You didn't.” Kevin raises an eyebrow, and Ashley giggles softly. 

"How do we get in?" Labrid asks, and Ben turns his gaze upon Dallas. 

"Girls?" 

\---------

Ashley beats Dallas out of the car, the brunette delayed by flustered and awkward limb tangling and blushing, so she approaches the bridge , flings up a mana beam, and yanks it down with ease. 

“Damn.” Kevin whistles lowly as they walk in. 

Dallas and Gwen light up their hands to provide light so the others can search their surroundings. 

"There's nobody here. You sure this is the place?" Gwen asks, and Kevin nods. 

"There's a hidden door. Keep looking." 

"Maybe you should have brought a shopping cart.” Ben comments, raising an eyebrow as Kevin pockets a few necklaces from the display cases throughout the room. 

"I don't like the looks of this.” Ashley mutters, saving Kevin from having to reply. 

Ben yelps suddenly, too caught up in examining his surroundings that he isn’t watching where he’s walking and crashes right into a suit of armour. It falls toward him, axe glinting dangerously in the light, and he slams his eyes shut and waits for death. 

It doesn’t come. 

Confused, he opens his eyes and is far to face with Dallas, a green mana shield around them. He smiles sheepishly, and she snorts. 

“Thanks.”

"Come on man, what are you doing?" Kevin scolds, rolling his eyes. 

"Sorry." Ben muttered "I'm just a little-" he breaks off abruptly at the shocked stares of the others, focusing on something seemingly behind him. "What?"

Dallas gently tugs his sleeve. 

"Ben.” She whispers, and he turns, eyes flying wide in shock. 

“-paranoid!” He finishes his earlier sentence 

The group immediately turns and flees as fast as they can from the dragon, rushing through a doorway too small for it, it’s teeth clamping shut a hairs with away from Ben’s jacket. 

~~~~~~~

Ashley huffs our a tired breath as she takes in her surroundings. She must admit, this is exhausting. A few feet to her left she sees Echo Echo and Dallas, and to her right she sees Kevin, gaze falling upon him right in time to spot a knight sneaking up behind him. 

“Kevin!” She cries, and a split second later she’s behind him, mana grabbing the laser lance, ripping it out of the knights hands, and bashing him over the head with it. 

He collapses to the ground, rendered unconscious, and she makes a fist with her hand, taking pleasure in the way her mana crumples up the weapon, the muted explosion giving off enough light to temporarily flood the room. 

"How did you get here so fast?"

“Teleported.” And with that, she vanishes again, quickly disarming another Knight. She turns once more though, when she hears Labrid call a warning to a knight. 

“Don’t do it, it’s busted!” 

She whirls around and her gaze falls upon the knight taking aim at Kevin, a visible crack in the barrel of the laser lance, and just like that she’s back in front of him, hands ignited with mana. 

She throws her hand up to erect a shield, and the knight pulls the trigger. They all watch in silence as red electric buildup begins, and within seconds the knight is completely vaporized. Ashley grits her teeth and shifts slightly closer to Kevin, shield getting darker as more of her energy goes into it. 

“Hit the deck!” Labrid shrieks, and Dallas whirls, throwing her arms around Echo Echo and throwing up a shield, barely a second to spare before the weapon explodes, leaving a massive crater in the ground and destroying almost half of the house. 

"That's why level five tech is illegal on earth!" He snaps at Kevin once the shields are dropped. “Humans aren't ready for it!”

\--------

"That's the last of them.” Labrid confirms, tossing the laser lance into the pile. "If you wouldn't mind.”

Echo echo nods and walks over, waiting until everyone has covered their ears before letting out a high pitched shriek that obliterates the remaining laser lances. He glances up when he notices a small puddle by his feet, his brows furrowing. 

“Hey, are you okay?” He asks. “There’s-“ He breaks off briefly when the Omnitrix times out. “-water leaking from your suit.”

Labrid glances down and grimaces. 

"That's not water.” He groans, sinking to his knees. 

"You alright man?"

"Ben, listen to me-“ 

"I've got a tire patch kit in the car! Maybe we could-" Kevin tries, and Labrid interrupts. 

"No time for that." The alien interrupts him fiercely. "There's nothing anyone can do.”

“Not even us?” Dallas asks, and Labrid shakes his head. 

“Not even you.” 

"Let us help you!" Ben protests, and Labrid coughs weakly. 

"If you want to help me, you'll finish the job." They flinch as his skin drastically pales, turning an almost ashy grey. "Find out where the level five tech is coming from.”

"I will.” Ben promises, and Labrid nods in satisfaction. 

"That's just the tip of the iceberg kid. Your Grandpa was on the trail of something big. An alien conspiracy with earth in the middle. He was working undercover. If you crack this case, maybe you can find Max. And save your planet.”

"But I can't do it without Grandpa... I don't know how.”

"You are Ben Tennyson. You can do anything.”

Labrid’s suit fogs over for a second, and when it clears he’s gone. 

“Oh..” Ashley breathes, turning and hiding her face in Kevin’s chest. The ruffians eyes widen in surprise but he puts an arm around her shoulders anyways, squeezing gently. 

Dallas sighs softly and kneels beside Ben, resting her head on his shoulder. 

“You okay?”

"I don't know what to do.”

"You will." She places her hand gently over his and smiles warmly at him. "You're a Tennyson. It's in your blood. And we've got your back every step of the way.”

Ben’s brows furrow and he looks up as Ashley and Kevin part. He purses his lips. 

“I’m going to need help.” 

"You know I'm with you" Gwen replies immediately. 

"Always." Ashley nods. 

"Kevin... There's no money in this but..." He trails off, and Kevin glances down toward the floor. 

After a moment of hesitation he bends down and carefully takes Labrid’s badge, fixing it with a hard stare. It’s a moment before he meets Ben’s gaze. 

"I'm in.”

\-----

“Are you sure this is going to work!?” Ben yells from the car, and Ashley shrugs where she floats a few feet ahead of them. 

“I don’t know. I’ve done this before, but never with a gun, or with mana belonging to people I don’t know.”

A few feet in front of her, a laser lance spins erratically through the air, twisting and turning in various directions. Ashley’s brows knit tighter together in concentration. 

"But in theory I should be able to trace the vibrations from this laser lance back to the people that used to own it.” She mutters, mostly to herself. 

Ben is silent for a moment before he turns to cock an eyebrow at Kevin. 

"I thought I destroyed all of those things.”

"I was keeping one as a souvenir. Lucky huh?" He smirks. 

Ben rolls his eyes, and Dallas giggles softly to herself. 

"Hey!" They all turn their heads towards Ashley at the unexpected exclamation. "It's working!" She cheers as the weapon begins floating away, and she floats after it. “Follow me!" 

"I'll follow you anywhere" Kevin murmurs. 

Both brunettes turn to face him, raising an eyebrow before glancing at each other. Nodding to each other, they decide not to comment. 

Kevin doesn’t speak again until Ashley floats off the road, and then it’s a bewildered cry. 

“Except there! Come on Ash, the paint job!” 

She ignores him. 

\-------

"This is it.” Ashley tells them. “Down that mine shaft"

"We'll have to get past the-" He breaks off when he hears a grunt and he turns, only to see that Kevin has already taken care of the guards. 

They leave their hiding place and rush over, and Gwen shoves Kevin’s shoulder. 

“You hit him too hard!” She scolds. 

“Not him. It.” He corrects, leaning down and pulling off the mask to reveal a DNAlien. 

"It's like the mask the aliens at the train station were wearing.” Dallas pipes up, and Ashley grimaces. 

"We're getting warmer" Ben states as they step onto the lift and Kevin presses the button to take them down. 

"Not much to see down here.” Kevin mutters as they descend, but it’s a mere second later that the cast cavernous space is fully revealed. The girls gasp, and Ben raises an eyebrow. 

“Don’t think so?” 

Everyone’s gazes train upon a huge rocket. Once the lift stops they rush into cover, gazes still glued on the weapon. 

"Big.” Kevin states, and Ashley nods. 

"It's the mother ship.” Ben says. “Don't you get it? Grandpa Max has to be in there!”

"So how do we get in?"

"How does this work again?" Ben asks, pulling out the mask from earlier. 

"Photonic displacement.” Kevin explains. "You can set it to make you look like anything you want.”

Ben smirks and raises an eyebrow. He then raises it to his face and pushes it on, and as soon as it meets his skin his form is replaced by that of a DNAlien. 

"How do I look?"

Kevin shrugs. 

"About the same.” He pauses. “Taller.”

Gwen returns then, startling the boys as they hadn’t even noticed she’d left. 

“Get in.” She commands, gesturing to the mine cart she’d pilfered. 

\-------

To say Ben is bad at pretending to be a DNAlien, would be an understatement. He’s atrocious at it.

"Hey! How's it going?” He calls to one as he passes, and Dallas sighs softly. "Sup!" He greets another. “I owe you a call!"

He steps away when they reached their destination and are finally out of sight, and lifts the blanket off his friends. 

“End of the line.”

Kevin shudders as he peeks out of the cart. 

"It's freezing in here!" He turns to Ben and raises an eyebrow. "I owe you a call?"

"That was really bad, Benz" Dallas agrees, and Ben pulls the mask off and smiles sheepishly. 

“I panicked.”

"Don't be such a baby" Gwen mutters when Kevin complains about the cold once again. “What’s next?”

"See if you can find out where Grandpa is.” He pauses. “It is cold though"

"Very" Dallas agrees. 

"Okay, let me try something.” Gwen mutters. A moment later, her eyes turn pink. After a longer moment than the first her eyes open, and she frowns. "I'm sorry Ben. Grandpa isn't here. Maybe he was a few weeks ago, but he isn't anymore."

"So now what? We just get out of here, right?" Kevin asks, and Ben shakes his head. 

"Wrong. When I was little, Grandpa Max taught me to ride my bike. He ran alongside me, holding me up while I pedalled. By the time I had realized he had let go... I had already been riding by myself for a really long time..." He was quiet for a moment. "Training wheels off guys. We're going to finish the mission." With that, he turns and walks away. 

\------

They look around curiously when they enter a room with a large red cylinder hanging in the air. With a raised eyebrow Kevin absorbs part of the wall and then tears said wall away, revealing hundreds of laser lances decorating shelves. 

“Weapons room.” Gwen states, and Kevin mutters an agreement. 

Theres flash of pink mana followed by an explosion, and Kevin shoots a glare at her. 

“A little louder why don’t you?”

"No big deal. We'll be out of here before they even-" Gwen breaks off when there were strange grunting noises behind them, and they all turn to see dozens of DNAliens surrounding them. 

"You were saying?" Ben raises an eyebrow, and Gwen sighs. 

Ben shakes his head and clicks a few buttons on the dial of the Omnitrix, slapping his hand down on what he hopes is something good for this kind of a fight. 

“Humungousaur!” He yells, glancing down at himself very briefly. “Yes! Hey, guess what time it is? It’s hero time!” 

“Save some for me!” Kevin yells after him, absorbing the floor to cover his arms. “Those creeps cost me a major payday!” He hesitates when he catches sight of the look Ashley is giving him and he smiles sheepishly. “Uh.. also because they’re evil, and we’re against that.”

Within minutes all the aliens are defeated. 

"We kicked butt!" Kevin cries triumphantly, high-fiving Ashley. 

"So far.” Humungousaur agrees. “But there could be hundreds of these guys in here.” 

"We destroyed the weapons. Why not just leave?" Gwen asks, and the dinosaur-like alien nods. 

"Good call. Lets-" He breaks off, eyes widening as a large white and black creature even larger than him stalks into the room. "Oh man."

The others turn and their eyes widen as well. 

"What are you creatures doing on my ship?" The new alien growls. They don’t answer. "I do not repeat myself to lower life forms! What are you doing on my ship?"

"Did he just call me a lower life form?"

"I'm pretty sure he did" Humungasaur rumbles. 

"And while he may have a point, it's still rude to say so." Gwen points out, folding her arms over her chest. 

"You vermin would dare mock a Highbreed commander?"

"I'd mock anyone that uses the word mock." 

“Lets go, guys!” 

~~~~~

The Highbreed snarls and flings his arm to the side, hurling Ashley into a wall, and her sister cries out her name. 

“Ashley!”

Kevin scrambles over to her and kneels next to her, hands gently gripping her shoulders. 

“Did he hurt you?”

“No.”

“Well I’m gonna hurt him.”

"He's too strong" Humungasaur stops him, shaking his head. "I'll hold him off. You guys get outside!" 

"What!? No!" Dallas immediately argues, and her sister immediately backs her up. 

"I'm not leaving you to fight that thing by yourself.” 

"No time to argue. Kevin get her out of here!"

"You heard the man!" Kevin exclaims, grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder before he takes off for the exit. 

"What are you doing!?" She practically screeches, slamming her fists against his back. "Let me go!"

"As soon as we're off this ship!"

"Gwen-"

"Say no more.”

Before Dallas can say a word to protest she’s grabbed and dragged away by Gwen, much to her annoyance. 

"Gwen what are you doing!?" She protests angrily. "We can't leave him alone! Ben!" She tears an arm free and reaches toward him, imploring him to change his mind. 

"I'll be fine!" He assures her gruffly.

She sees the alien lunge at Ben, and then her vision is blocked by the tunnel. 

"Maggot! You would face me alone!?" The Highbreed growls. 

Humungasaur lets out a snarl and lunges at him. 

\--------

"You've ruined everything! By discovering this location you've set our plans back months!" He throws the Vaxasaurian across the room. "Inferior scum!" He grips Humungasaurs neck from behind and heaves him up off the ground. “I have to move my ship, find a new hiding place, and sterilize the area!"

"Sterilize?"

"Destroy all life within five miles of here!” He snarls. "No witnesses will live to tell the tale!"

"You can't!" He smacks the Highbreed’s hand away, only I have it grab him by the front of his neck and hoist him off his feet. 

"I can! And I will!" 

"Let me go!" He snarls, clamping his teeth down on the aliens hand. 

"Ow!" The creature shrieks, dropping Humungousaur to the ground. "Filth! You've infected me!" He picks Humungasaur up once again and storms over to the exit. "Get off my ship!"

Humungasaur lets out a yelp of alarm as he falls through the air, but he calms down instantly when a band of green mana wraps around his waist, pulling him back down to the ground safely. 

He groans, pushing himself up. 

"You okay?" Dallas asks worriedly, and he nods. 

"Fine.”

"Guess you showed him.” Kevin drawls sarcastically.

"He's going to destroy the town.”

"How?" Gwen asks. 

“I don't know.” He admits in a huff. "He's going to do it now, unless I stop him!"

They all whirl around when loud whirring noises began echoing through the clearing, five sets of eyes falling upon a large ship as it begins ascending. 

"Great.” Dallas mutters as it takes off, Ashley creating a mana shield to protect them from any debris or heat. "There he goes.” 

"You've got yourself a big problem!" Humungasaur yells, before he leaps up and grabs onto the Highbreed’s ship. 

The alien lets out a bewildered cry when a cannon extends from the base of the ship and a lethal looking red laser shoots out of it, creating a path of demolition heading straight for a hospital. 

"No!" Humungasaur cries, slamming his fists through the hull of the ship and tearing out handfuls of wires as fast as he can. 

The laser shuts down seconds from hitting the building, and he heaves a huge sigh of relief. 

Smoke billows out of the hole in the ship, and the Vaxasaurian grunts as he slips down, barely hanging into the edge of the ship. Several dozen feet away, the other four are rushing towards him on pink mana platforms created by Gwen. 

They all freeze when Humungasaur slips off the rocket, hurtling towards the ground. 

"Ben!" Dallas shrieks. 

The crash is almost as if a small meteor had impacted earth, and she feels sick. She quickly abandons her friends and shoots off through the air like a bullet to the trench he’d just dug with Humungousaur’s face. When she reaches him, he’s lying motionlessly in the dirt. 

He groans softly, cracking his eyes open and lifting a hand to his head, and she drops through the air to harshly land next to him, hands immediately cupping his cheeks so he can turn his head carefully from side to side to inspect him for injuries. 

“Are you okay?” She frets, and he groans again. 

“Not fun.”

She flinches in surprise when an explosion shakes the ground, and both turn their heads to see smoke billowing up in the distance. 

“I guess that takes care of that.” She mutters. 

The other three choose that moment to arrive, just as Ben finishes covering up a scrape on his knee. 

"How'd you find us?" He asks, and Kevin smirks. 

"Looked for the front end of the big trench you dug with your face.”

"You okay?" Gwen asks, and Ben glances down at his knee and then back up to Gwen.

"Humungasaur skinned his knee, and it was still skinned when I turned back.”

“Weird.” Ashley mutters. 

"So what happens now?" Kevin prompts, and Ben shrugs slightly. 

"We keep looking for Grandpa Max.” He replies, pushing himself to his feet. “I guess the best way to do that is to solve the case he was working on.”

"Easy as pie." Ashley smiles, walking up beside him. 

"Anybody know how to make a pie?" Gwen asks, tilting her head to the side. 

"Listen..." Ben starts, turning to face Kevin and meet his gaze. "We've had a lot of problems in the past... But I wanted to say thanks... We wouldn't have made it without you.”

He holds out a hand for Kevin to shake. The ruffian eyes it, raising a brow. 

"You still won't make it without me.” He replies harshly, and Ben grimaces and drops his hand. 

"Are you saying you want to help us?" Gwen asks in surprise, raising a brow. 

"I'm saying I made somebody a promise. I'm seeing this through to the end.”

"Then you can shake hands, right?" Ben asks hopefully, a smile on his face as he holds it out again. 

Again, Kevin only eyes it until Ben turns his hand over and smiles reassuringly at the raven. Catching on, Dallas places her hand over his, and Gwen is next, followed immediately by Ashley. After a moment, Kevin lets out a resigned sigh and offers a small smile as he puts his hand on top of the pile. 

"It's hero time!"

Ashley smiles slightly at her friend before pulling her hand away and walking away, and her sister is quick to follow her. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Dallas asks, putting a hand on her hip 

"Places.” 

"Ash, can we talk?” Kevin asks, and Ashley stops. 

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“There is! You can’t try to tell me the connection we had when we were kids isn’t still there!”

The ache she feels in her chest when he says that is almost enough to make her puke. 

“Kevin-“

“Just talk to me.” 

“Okay, you want to talk? You disappeared. You tried to kill one of my best friends, and then you vanished into thin air! You didn’t care about anyone but yourself, you almost killed my sister and my best friend! And then you show up here, knowing damn well who Ben is and what he means to me and you still tried to kill him!” She jabs her finger into his chest as tears well in her eyes. “I’m not saying there was never a connection, and that the connection is gone. I’m not saying that I don’t care, or that I don’t want to kiss your stupid backstabbing face. But I can’t trust you. I used to be able to call you my best friend, but now? I don’t know what to call you.” 

With that, she turns and briskly walks away. Dallas takes a step after her, as if to follow, and Ashley stops her with a harsh ‘Don’t!’ before taking off into the sky. 

Kevin sighs, watching her until she disappears. Then he turns his sights upon Dallas. 

“If you have anything to say to me, nows the time.” 

“I don’t have a problem with you personally, Kevin. The only animosity I hold for you is in defence of my sister because you hurt her. But let me tell you this.” She reaches a glowing green hand up to grip the collar of his shirt and yank him down to eye level. “I don’t care what the circumstances are, if you /ever/ throw a train at Ben again, there will be serious hell to pay.” She releases his shirt and allows him to properly stand up, eyes wide in surprise. “Got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Good.” She smiles at him and then turns to Ben, the sickly fake-sweet tone she’d used with Kevin melting back into a soft, caring tone as she lifts a hand gently to his cheek. 

“You’re sure you’re okay?” She murmurs, and he nods as he leans into the hand. 

“I’m okay.” He promises. 

He hums softly when she pulls him into a hug, and he clings tightly to her, hiding his face in her neck. 

“We should get home.” Gwen points out softly, and Kevin nods. “Come on, lets head back to your car.”

“Alright.” He agrees, and silence overtakes the group as they troop to Kevin’s car. 

End Episode


End file.
